ATTN JMS: Bruce B and Cast Turmoil?

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: ksdavis at fas.harvard.edu (Kevin Davis)
Date: 1 Apr 1998 19:03:24 -0700
Lines: 36

Joe:

I just read an excerpt from Melissa Gilbert's chat last night on AOL's
Eclipse Cafe, where she claims that the entire cast of B5 was "let go"
because TNT "wants a whole new show" [i.e., Crusade].  The posting made it
appear that Bruce Boxleitner was none too happy that he didn't have the
opportunity to continue on into the spinoff.

Now, this makes perfect sense to *me*; I mean, Aeneas's story ends when he
kills Turnus, and it wouldn't make any sense to show him hanging around
with Ascanius and Lavinia -- the epic, and his role in it, are finished. 
Ditto, it seems to me, for Sheridan: his character has been well-developed,
and has played his role in the events in the B5 universe, now it's time for
him to move off the stage. 

What I'm wondering is, what's going on with this?  Is this [i.e., the new
storyline and Sheridan's "end" in the B5 universe's plot] the reason why
Sheridan/Bruce B. will not be moving into Crusade?  If so, why is he taking
this so personally, so hard? From his wife's post to the Cafe, it seems as
if he sees this as a firing, not what it is -- the ending of one show and
the beginning of another, and the necessary cast changes that come about
when the dramatis personae change.  I would just, as a fan of B5, hate to
see a rift occur among the cast and among the fans like the one that
happened after CC's departure from the show.  Is there any way to
ameliorate what looks to be a rather serious level of bitterness from
Bruce?  And would this affect his availability for any feature-length film
or future telefilms?

I also understand if you can't or won't comment on this right now, since it
may be a rather difficult subject best left out of fandom.


				      +-----------------------------+	
				      |	-- Kevin Davis         <*>  |
				      |    ksdavis at fas.harvard.edu  |
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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 1 Apr 1998 23:53:16 -0700
Lines: 35

The real bottom line is, it's not easy when one's horse is shot out from under
one.  There's no way to take it lightly.

I've been saying for five years, "This is a five year story.  When it's over,
it's over."  But there's the statement, and the reality of the statement; two
different things.  To the viewers, it's the end of the story.  To an actor,
it's "I'm out of work now because Joe said it was a five year story instead of
a six year story."  

I know that a lot of the cast have been in denial about this for a long time,
many of them said in interviews, "Yeah, well, Joe's said it's a five year arc,
but I don't see why it couldn't go longer."  But if you live in that notion,
then when the reality hits, it hits hard.

So the reaction is perfectly understandable on an emotional level.  When a show
is over, everyone's gone.  In this town, that usually means "you're fired, the
network doesn't like you or the show."  It's a personal rejection.  Here it was
my decision, from the git-go, that this series would go five years and no more.
 That's kind of a new thing, and takes some getting used to.  You can only
interpret it by what you've experienced before.

One or two cast members may transition over into Crusade, assuming it goes
ahead, but that show *has* to be its own show, it can't be just a repackaged
B5.  (And I'm referring to regulars here, there's plenty of room for
guest-starring roles for nearly all of our characters at one point or another,
plus the likelihood of more B5 TV movies, plus the real possibility of a B5
feature.)

It's an emotional reaction, and totally understandable.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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